Official Recession Ended June 2009

Washington, DC, Sept. 21, 2010--The Great Recession that began in December 2007 ended in June 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

NBER also warned that its findings bear no relation to the current state of the economy and do not represent a forecast about the future. 

The group said the economy bottomed out in June 2009, followed by a slow expansion.

James Poterba, president of the NBER, said a plunge in household wealth, as well as financial crises in the U.S. and overseas, contributed to the long duration of the recession.